


that sweater

by starksdanvers



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Eddie Kaspbrak, Fluff and Angst, Gay Richie Tozier, M/M, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, minor violence (?), mostly in eddie's pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:16:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksdanvers/pseuds/starksdanvers
Summary: Being gay is wrong and dirty, right? That’s what his mom had always told him. Don’t be like those nasty homos, Richard. Like that Adrian boy, he’s going straight to hell. Everyone had heard of what happened to Adrian Mellon that summer. What happens to a lot of gay kids in a town like Derry. The victim of a brutal hate crime, that’s what Richie Tozier would be if he kept having thoughts that he shouldn’t. He knows it’s bad, but how does he make it stop? What would Eddie think of him? What would his friends think of him? His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but Eddies…Eddie’s did. Something about the way alcohol reacted with Eddie made him so damn cheerful.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	that sweater

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! :D  
> This is something I've been working on for a while,, I din't really know whether to publish or not but I guess I am lol.
> 
> A few things;  
> -The only writing I've ever really done is for my creative writing classes, so it's not going to be perfect. I'll do my best to proofread and look for any mistakes!  
> -I'm going to do my best to upload a new chapter every week, similar to how tv show episodes have certain air dates. Mine is going to be either Sundays or Mondays!  
> -Feel free to leave feedback or plot ideas in the comments! I'm not entirely sure where this book is headed, I don't really have a specific plan; I'm literally just seeing how it goes.
> 
> If you have any questions you can find me @starksdanvers on instagram (:

“Come on Ed’s, don’t be such a downer.”

“Fuck off, Richie, and don’t call me that,” Eddie rolled his eyes. Something about the boy was really irritating him today, even more so than regularly. He groaned as he ran his hands through his dark brown hair, shaking his head.

“I’m just saying, it’s Christmas, live a little. And he-“

“Beep beep Richie. If he doesn’t want to drink, we can’t make him. Also, it’s only the 23rd,” Bev cut him off, before taking a sip of the vodka in her cup. Eddie watched her cough and wipe her mouth with her sleeve. He honestly doesn’t know how any of these people drink that shit. She looked over and gave him a light nod. “It’s alright Eddie, we understand. Right guys?”

It is alright, isn’t it? Sometimes Eddie feels like he should be doing these things and let loose. He feels bad. They’re seventeen after all, isn’t it about time that they experience new things? Drugs? Alcohol? One time he did try some of Stan’s beer at a party and got drunk. He doesn’t remember the night too well at all.   
Patrick had hosted a party, and the whole gang attended, solely because of Stan’s invite. It was sort of a mandator thing considering he’s on the school baseball team, but it was nice to be kind of invited somewhere for once.

…

Richie! Come and look at this!” Eddie had yelled over the loud music. Richie gave him weird look while fixing his glasses, realizing that Eddie was indeed drunk.  
“What is it, hot stuff?” Richie smirked, as he watched Eddie’s cheek flush a light pink.

He looked…cute. 

Cute. Eddie Kaspbrak was cute. With his curly brown hair, and little button nose. His perfect eyes, and the way he always smelt lightly of lemon. The way he always carried a little first aid kit in his pocket or fanny pack. He hadn’t realized he’d be staring at the soft expression on Eddie’s face until he was snapped back into reality by being punched in the shoulder.

“You’re gross,” Eddie casually laughed and grabbed Richie’s hand. “outside. Come, now.”

Richie knew that Eddie was way more drunk than him. Considering he was half his size, it made sense. Surprisingly enough, this was Eddie’s very first time getting drunk, and he seemed to be handling it well. He seemed happy, and peaceful. Eddie led him out into the back yard, where even more drunk teenagers were smoking, but at least it wasn’t in the house. He hadn’t smoked in a while; he’d have to steal some from Bev soon. 

“Rich, look at the stars, pretty, right?” Eddie asks, gaping towards the sky.

“Yeah. Yeah, they sure are, man,” Richie smiled. 

Rich. Cute, cute like Eddie. 

Richie wanted to reach out to him, to hold him. He knew he shouldn’t, and couldn’t. It made Richie’s heart ache a little, knowing that he couldn’t do most things that other people do. 

He’s not gay. No, Richie can’t be gay. 

Being gay is wrong and dirty, right? That’s what his mom had always told him. Don’t be like those nasty homos, Richard. Like that Adrian boy, he’s going straight to hell. Everyone had heard of what happened to Adrian Mellon that summer. What happens to a lot of gay kids in a town like Derry. The victim of a brutal hate crime, that’s what Richie Tozier would be if he kept having thoughts that he shouldn’t. He knows it’s bad, but how does he make it stop? What would Eddie think of him? What would his friends think of him? His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but Eddies…Eddie’s did. Something about the way alcohol reacted with Eddie made him so damn cheerful. 

“Hey, Eds I think I’m going home for the night.”

“So soon?”

“Sorry, I’m tired. I’ll catch you later, tell the others I said bye,” Richie said, trying not to break down from Eddie’s expression. He was too drunk for this shit tonight.

Afterwards, Eddie explicitly remembers the inside of a toilet bowl. He remembers puking his guts out, and never wanting to drink again.

…

“Yeah, whatever. Not a big deal, just thought we’d all have more fun is all, it’ the holidays. Is that not right my good fellows?” Richie responded in one of his voices. One of his very, very annoying ones. It’s almost a mix between British and a vampire, but who the fuck knows anyways? They’re all aggravating. 

Seems like this is a bit of a ritual for the losers. Sitting around a coffee table in Bill’s basement, almost every second Friday. Most of the time they play board games or watch movies. Of course, it was Richie’s idea to get drunk. It’s also the Christmas season, and they’ve had sleepovers near this time every year for a while now. Everyone else happily agreed to drinking; except for Eddie, as per usual. It’s always Eddie, the odd one out. Him, Eddie Kaspbrak, who has thoughts he probably shouldn’t have, who ruins everything.

“Nah, give me the bottle,” He said, wanting to stop the ideas flying around in his head. “I want some.”

“You sure man? No pressure,” Stanley assures him. They all admire that about him. Stan the man, with his stupid curly hair and stupid wisdom. He’s always been the heart of the group. Without him, something would definitely be missing. Everyone in the losers club had a place and was accepted. 

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m not a baby,” Fuck, why not, right?

“That’s what I’m talking about, spaghetti man!” Richie exclaimed, almost drunk, since he can hold his alcohol pretty well. He kept bumping his shoulder on Eddie’s and leaning into his space. Disgusting, really.

Eddie knows one thing for sure, and that’s that the clumsiness of being drunk is not at all appealing. As someone who likes to be neat, he can already feel the anxiety coursing through his body. From the way he’s sitting, he can feel his inhaler in his pocket. It may be silly, but it makes him feel better, knowing it’s there. Even though drinking doesn’t have anything at all to do with asthma.

Mike reached across this table and grabbed a blue-tinted cup. Eddie scrunched up his face as it was filled with cheap vodka, stolen from Richie’s dad’s office yesterday.   
“Enjoy,” Mike nodded, handing him the cup from the left of him.

“Thanks,” Eddie responded, looking into the cup. He could pretend it was water.

“Alright party people, who wants to play some games, any suggestions? Bill? You’re awfully festive,” Richie chimed in, glancing over to Bill, who’s sitting beside Stan and Ben.  
“I-I-I don’t know, I can’t t-think of anything. Bev? Mike? You guys go to parties more than any of us.” He replied, scratching the back of his neck.

“First of all, fuck off, and second, you’re not wrong. There’s truth or dare, never have I ever, that shit. But we’re not in the 6th grade, so. Otherwise we have board games,” Bev said, sipping her drink. Beverly had always been the most fun, most outgoing.

“What’s better than playing never have I ever with six other drunk teenagers?” Richie chuckled. “What do you guys think? It’s only…” He glanced at the clock near the stairs, seeing it wasn’t as late as they thought. “Nine. Big Bill’s parents and Georgie are out until tomorrow night, so we have all the time in the world. It’ll be fine if we get completely wasted.”

“Yeah, okay. Take a drink if you’ve done it and don’t if you haven’t,” Stan stated. It seemed that his usual witty attitude kind of decreased when he was intoxicated.

…

Before they had started playing, only Richie and Stanley had drunken enough to be any close to being heavily intoxicated. Eddie, Ben, and Mike didn’t normally drink, so they weren’t anywhere close to being drunk.

“Alrighty, who’s next?” Ben asked. So far, Bev, Richie, Bill, and Mike had the most to drink; which wasn’t at all surprising.

“I got one,” Richie held up his hand, with his words starting to slur together. “Never have I ever…made out with someone at a party.”

Feeling the heat rush to his face, Eddie took a drink, as well as everyone else.

“Come on, Richie that was too easy. Every kid in the fucking universe has done all of these,” Bill sighed.

“Hold your whining, Denbrough. Eds? I don’t believe it.”

“Fuck you, buddy. Nobody asked if you did,” Eddie responded sourly.

“Yeah hold on. Eddie, you know I love you, but who exactly did you kiss? You’ve kissed someone?” Bev laughed.

“I’m seventeen years old!” Eddie blushed. “Of course I have, jesus christ.”

“Well, who?” Richie questioned, clenching his jaw. He shouldn’t be jealous. He’s not jealous. Eddie can kiss whoever he wants. Eddie won’t ever kiss Richie, will he? No, no definitely not.

“Does it really matter? It was a while ago.”

“Uhm, as one of your best friends, I’d like to know,” Stan raised his hand. Obviously, they would. Isn’t that the whole point of this god-forsaken game? To find out secrets? To know that the seven of them are more alike than they think?

“It was a random girl, I don’t know if we went to school with her. Why aren’t you questioning anyone else, huh Richie? Hop off my dick,” Eddie said, mumbling the last part. It’s a normal thing for teenagers to do, right? Eddie is sure that most boys his age hook up with girls at parties, and go the whole way. Sure, Eddie’s thought about it, many times, but he’s not sure if he’d actually go through with it. There’s so much germs involved in sex, and he doesn’t find that very pleasing. “Her name was uh, Jessica? Jennifer? I can’t remember.”

“So you’re saying you actually got some action at a party, and you can’t remember her name?” Richie raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. The alcohol was really starting to hit him now. He chuckled a little, in disbelief.

“Yeah why’s it so fucking funny, asshole?” Eddie asked through gritted teeth. The grip on his cup tightened.

“Oh, it’s not, I’m just surprised,” Richie shrugged, turning back to the rest of the group and breaking eye contact.

“Okay, next question, please let’s move on,” Eddie blushed, feeling a warm buzz, courtesy of the vodka. “Who’s asking next?”

“Me, I’ve had enough sexual shit for tonight,” Mike spoke. “Richie, you’re disgusting, man.”

“Why thank you fine sir.”

“Shut up. Anyways, never have I ever been scared of a clown.”

“Oh that’s easy,” Eddie exclaimed. “Richie here is pretty terrifying!”

“Hey! What the fuck,” Richie giggled softly. “Dick move, Kaspbrak.”

“You asked for it, dumbass.”

Now everyone was laughing, gripping their stomachs, and just genuinely having a good time. It’s moments like these, when they’re truly the happiest. Richie rolled over on top of Eddie and started tickling him. Eddie was in stitches, and was trying to punch Richie to get off of him. 

“You’ll pay for that!” Richie yelled.

“Oh, will I?” Eddie responded, finding it becoming hard to breathe. “Hey, Rich, okay okay-“

“You think you’re getting off easy? Say you’re sorry, you ass.”

Ass. Eddie was now very apparent to the fact that Richie was sitting on him. 

Richie was straddling him, he could feel his ass on his hips. He was suddenly extremely aware of every part of his body, and how much of him was touching Richie. It was almost a good feeling, a comforting one. His hands running up Eddie’s sides, tickling him and smiling while doing it. Eddie truly did believe that Richie’s smile could light up a room. He constantly wonders why girls aren’t all over Richie; except for the fact that he’s been deemed a loser like the rest of them. None of them really get a lot of action, at least not that Eddie knows of. He sometimes assumes that Richie has, just because of all the dick jokes he makes. But honestly, he has no idea. Being all caught up in his head, he has now noticed that the other losers were gone, over in the corner looking at boardgames in the top of Bill’s coat closet. They’re arguing over either Twister, or Monopoly.

“I’m sorry, okay? I take it back,” Eddie wheezed, blushing yet again. “Get off you string bean, I can’t breathe.”

Richie rolled off of him, and flopped down on the floor adjacent to him. Eddie could feel his heart racing, and tried to focus on his breathing, making sure that enough air was flowing through his lungs. That was hard, when the entirety of Richie’s right side was pressed up against him. 

“Need your inhaler, Eds?” Richie asked, reaching his left arm over Eddie’s body to get into the pocket of his jeans. Richie always knew where Eddie kept his inhaler, incase of situations these. H stuck his hands into the left pocket, and grabbed it out. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Eddie replied, breathing into the mechanism. One of the only things his mom didn’t lie to him about was his asthma. Plus his ADHD. “And don’t call me that.”

“Are you two finally done brawling?” Bill raised his eyebrows, walking over to them. “We did rock paper scissors, the outcome is Twister. You guys playing?”

“Yeah, why not. Set it up, I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” Richie groaned, standing up and walked up the basement stairs.

Eddie sat up, still trying to catch his breath. He could sense himself blushing, after Richie was literally just on top of him.

Eddie doesn’t like boys. Does he? Richie is his best friend, after all. Isn’t this how friends are? Being affectionate, with physical contact and shit? It’s a usual thing to do, right? Eddie does like girls, he knows he does, he always has. So he can’t possibly like boys, right? He crossed his legs and stared down at his hands that were in his lap. This isn’t a typical relationship. Eddie isn’t normal, his mom made that quite clear.

“Eduardo, andale, let’s go!”

“Ricardo! Uno memento,” Eddie sighed, as he was slapped on the back of the head by Richie when he was passing by.

Bill and Stan cleared off the table and moved it off to the side of the room, while Bev and Mike moved the couch to the other wall.

“Everyone get up, stand over there,” Everybody followed Stan’s directions and stood opposite of him. “Bill you wanted to play this stupid game, so you’re going first,” Stan announced. He didn’t want to play, so he decided to spin the wheel. As for the rest of the losers, they were all surrounded the mat that had been laid out.

“Sure thing Stan the man,” Bill giggled. The alcohol had fully kicked in in everyone’s systems.

Bill stepped on the green circle, and everyone waited for Stan’s next instructions.

“Alright, Eddie, put your right hand on red.”

…

“If you fart right now, I assure you that I will commit homicide. Trust me, when I say that I’m not kidding,” Eddie grumbled, struggling to stay in his position. It was down to him and Richie, everyone else had fallen off. Richie was tall, so he had an advantage of being able to reach every colour spot. Eddie on the other hand, was small and flexible. Eddie’s right hand was on blue, right leg on red, left hand on yellow, and left foot on yellow. It wasn’t exactly a hard position to hold, as long as his left side could hold his weight.

“Take it easy, Edward. I will not pass gas in your face unless you ask nicely,” Richie spoke, his right arm staring to shake. He had his left foot on green, right foot on red, and both hands on blue. “Jesus, I am not flexible enough for this shit.”

“Are you saying I win?” asked Eddie.

“Hell no, I’m still good to go a little longer.”

“Well hurry up, I’m tired,” Stan groaned, getting bored. All of the others went upstairs to order some pizza for a late dinner. “Okay fuck you both, let me know who drops first. I’ll be upstairs because I, am hungry as hell.”

“Damnit Stan, now I’m hungry too.”

“Yeah, why do you have to do us like that?” Richie shouted, as both boys watched Stan stroll up the stairs.

“Now what? Drop together? I don’t feel like losing to you, of all people,” Eddie stated. He was starting to sweat a little, with little beads of moisture collecting on his forehead.  
“Nuh uh, no way. I’m not giving up that easy,” Richie shook his head. Eddie couldn’t quite see past his left thigh, but he could tell that Richie was struggling. “I doubt you’re stronger than me, bitch boy.

“Bitch boy, that’s sweet. And excuse you, my background of Track and Field says otherwise. And what exactly do you do? You’re skinnier than the whole losers club combined.”

“Yes Eddie, we all know how thick and juicy you are, thank you for that.”

“Thick and juicy? You’re actually disgusting,” Eddie used his right arm to shove Richie in the right calf, causing his whole body to tip over. He let out a moan of pain as his elbow hit the ground.

“Jesus Christ, Eds, fuck,” Richie rolled onto his left side, so that he could make eye contact with Eddie.

“Wow,” Eddie laughed, standing up straight and stretched out his back. He may only be seventeen, but his bones say otherwise. You’d think with all the running he did it would be easier to move around freely, but no. “I think that’s the most unholy noise I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”

“Yeah? That’s not what your mom said last night,” retorted Richie, standing up beside Eddie. They were both stretching their bodies, and cracking their necks. Staying in that uncomfortable of a position for half an hour certainly was not ideal for them. Richie threw his arm around his shoulder and bumped their hips together. “Come on, let us go eat.”

…

“You guys aren’t tired yet? Like at all?” Eddie breathed, staring up at the ceiling. It was now past one a.m., and everyone had settled down. Bill had put National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on the tv, although only a few of them were actually watching it. Richie and Bev were on either side of him, Ben and Mike were beside Bev, and both Bill and Stan were sprawled out on the couch. Luckily, Bill’s carpet was fairly soft, so it wasn’t that uncomfortable. 

“No. Just go to sleep if you’re tired, man,” Richie whispered, with his voice cracking. His eyes were bloodshot, and he kept running his hands through his hair. He’s been growing it out over the summer, so it’s grown longer and curly, it was almost down to his shoulders, just past his ears.

“Maybe. I still have to go into work tomorrow. You tired?” Eddie yawned. He’s worked at the Capitol for about a year now. He gets to see movies for free there, and sometimes he sneaks in his friends. Working at a movie theatre has a lot of perks, but it can be boring.

“Always,” He sighed in response.

“Come here,” Eddie said, sitting up a bit and leaning against the back of the couch. “Come on.”

“Come on what?”

“Lay down on me,” Eddie requested. Richie scrunched up his eyebrows, but did as he was asked. He rested his head on Eddie’s lap. Richie threw his right arm over Eddie’s waist and cuddled up closer to him. Eddie then started running his fingers through his hair, which released a low groan from Richie. “That feel good?”

“Mhm. It was tangled,” Richie mumbled into the blanket that was over top of Eddie. “G’night, spaghetti man.”

“Night Richie,” Eddie replied, and physically relaxed. 

He took a deep breath and felt peaceful for the first time in a while. He figured everyone else had already fallen asleep, due to the booze that were consumed earlier that night. He was warm next to Richie, and happy. He hadn’t felt like this in a while. It was similar to the way Richie would hug him tightly after an anxiety attack. It’s always helped him calm down, in times of stress. Sometimes, he and Richie would go off to the clubhouse alone and sit in the hammock together. None of their other friends really liked comics as much as them, so they enjoyed their alone time. Eddie was Richie’s best friend, and Richie was Eddie’s when they weren’t at each other’s throats. Eddie felt himself drifting off to sleep, and snuggled a little bit closer to Richie.

…

“Hola, senor!” Richie yelled into the theatre, raising his arms above his head.

“Rich? What are you doing here?” Eddie asked him, stopping in his place. He was just on his way to grab the mop from the closet since some dumbass of a kid dropped two whole sodas on the ground. “I’m working.”

“Uh, yeah, I know. I was bored at home so I went for a drive, and ended up here. How’s the hangover?”

“Not as bad as you’d think. How long you sticking around? I’m done in an hour so we can go back to my place if you want to,” Eddie asked, and started walking to the janitorial closet again. He heard Richie shuffle behind him, tripping over his own legs.

It was true, his hangover surprisingly wasn’t even that painful. He took some ibuprofen before he’d left for work. When he had first woke up, his head felt like it was going to explode, that, and he was sweating because Richie had tightly secured himself around Eddie when he was sleeping. He’d left before anyone else was awake, and didn’t bother to leave a note since they knew where he would be anyways. Knowing that he had only a three-hour shift motivated him as well; not many people come in on Christmas Eve.  
“Yeah why not. I’ve got no plans. And why not spend Christmas Eve with my best little man?” He laughed, giving Eddie a few slaps on the back.

“I’m not little, I’m 5’8”. That is a normal size for a man,” He responded, retrieving his keys from his back pocket to open the door. “You don’t have plans with your family tonight at all?”

“Nah, not really. You know how my parents are.”

Eddie did know. Busy, that’s what they are. There’s a line between neglecting and child abuse, and Richie’s parents are close to crossing it.

“My mom and I don’t really have anything big planned, I can see if you can stay for dinner. I doubt she’ll let you sleep over though, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. And Coolio, Mr K. It’s a date,” Richie smirked, causing Eddie’s cheeks to flush. Hopefully, Richie didn’t catch onto the way he reacts to things like this. “I can wait and watch you clean. It’s very entertaining.”

“Fun for you, not so much for me,” Eddie frowned. 

Children are disgusting, the way they infect everything they touch. 

He watched as the mop soaked up the fizzy brown liquid from the floor. In all honesty, Eddie didn’t even mind cleaning it up that much. To know that the shithole he works in is disinfected at least twice a week to his standards, is quite comforting. He’s certain that he’s gotten a hold on his germaphobia, and he’s proud of himself for that. It’s not anywhere near as bad as it was. And hey, at least it wasn’t spilled on the carpet.

“True. I am going to buy candy. Have fun with your mess,” Richie called out, turning his back to Eddie as he walked over to the concession counter. Eddie wonders if Richie remembers cuddling with him last night. Probably not, because of all the alcohol he had drank. Richie most likely had the most out of everybody. 

He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, some blue jeans, and grey t-shirt. Eddie was too, under his uniform. He knew he probably wouldn’t have time to go home before his shift, so he had left his work attire in his locker here to make things easier for him.

The hour went by shockingly fast, with only a few distractions from Richie. There was only one other boy, Johnathan that was also working at that time.

It was a slow day with not a lot of costumers, so both Eddie and Richie sat in one of the empty theatres and watched some shitty movie until his shift ended. Since Eddie had walked the five minutes from Bill’s house to the theatre, Richie drove them back to Eddie’s place. All Richie did was argue over what the best Christmas movie was. He tried to say it was A Christmas Story, but Eddie was insisting that it was actually Die Hard. A shame that Bev wasn’t there, she’d back him up on that.

“I’m just saying, Bruce Willis is a genius,” Eddie said, climbing out of Richie’s old grey truck. His dad said he could borrow it for the week, which was lucky for him. He only usually got the keys to the truck once in a while.

“And I’m not saying you’re wrong. It’s just my opinion. I hope you have it in your heart to accept that,” Richie sniffled, wiping a fake tear from his eye.  
“Oh, fuck off,” Eddie replied, retrieving his keys from the front right pocket of his work pants.

Once they had reached the door, he unlocked it and stepped inside.

“Eddie? Is that you?” Eddie heard his mom called from the kitchen.

“Uh, yeah I’m home. Richie’s here too I said he could stay for dinner. We’re going upstairs now,” Eddie called, as he slammed the door.

Before his mom could answer, he and Richie made a run for it to the stairs. Eddie’s room was directly to the right of where the stairs ended, and his mom’s was about 20 feet opposite of his. The bathroom was across from where the stairs ended, which luckily not shared with his mother; she had her own in her bedroom.

Eddie flopped onto his bed, landing on his back. Running his hands through his hair, he felt Richie lay down beside him.

“How did you sleep last night?” Richie questioned, crossing his arms. They were close enough to feel each other’s body heat, but they weren’t exactly touching.  
“Like shit, I don’t sleep well when I drink.”

Eddie sat up and started unbuttoning his navy-blue uniform. It wasn’t that heat absorbent, but after doing all of the tasks he had completed he was sweating a little; it was enough to make him feel disgusting. He threw the shirt into his laundry hamper, and went over to his dresser to grab a new one. 

Turning around to face Richie, he asked, “Yellow or red?”

“Red, you look better in that colour. I don’t know why you ask for my opinion when it comes to fashion, that’s Bev’s strength,” Richie responded, propping himself up on his elbows. His eyes studied Eddie’s back, and all of the places it curved around bones and muscle.

“Thanks, Rich,” Eddie said while pulling the t-shirt over his head. He walked back over to the bed, and sat down. “You want to read comics?”  
“Sure. Can I close the window though, it’s cold as hell.”

Without waiting for an answer, Richie stood up and walked over to Eddie’s window. It gets really cold in Derry, especially in December. Eddie likes it, but Richie doesn’t; he prefers the Summer.

Eddie likes the way the snow looks over his yards. Sometimes he’ll pull up the wooden chair from his desk and stare out of the window, and look at the sheet of white overtop of his neighbourhood. On the rare occasion, Richie will join him. He sucks it up for Eddie, because he know how much he enjoys it. Richie also knows how little Eddie enjoys things at home, due to his mom.

“DC or Marvel?” Eddie grunted, jumping on the bed. 

…

“Bro, I don’t think I’m every going to eat again. I’m going to have to thank your mom later,” Richie sighed, closing his eyes. 

They had a short dinner, while Eddie’s mom watched the tv from her usual spot. Richie sat with Eddie at the table, and didn’t talk much, but it was nice. It wasn’t anything special or unusual. They had eaten a semi-traditional Christmas meal, including turkey, stuffing, and fried potatoes. Eddie really liked the food, actually. His mother’s cooking wasn’t always the best, but she had her moments.

“Me too. I feel sick. I’m never eating again,” Eddie grinned, looking over to Richie, who joined him on Eddie’s bed. It was a normal thing for them to do; sit in silence. 

It was peaceful, the way they only really heard each other’s breathing. Eddie’s mom would occasionally curse at the tv downstairs, but it was generally just them. It was nice, it made Eddie feel happy.

“Hey, do you remember much of last night?”

That caused Eddie’s breath to hitch.

“Uh, no, not really. But you were more drunk than I was, so,” Eddie responded, tilting his head to look at Richie. He could see through his glasses at this angle, and he scrunched his nose. “Your glasses are fucking disgusting.”

Richie swears that his heart skipped a beat in that moment.

Eddie would sometimes clean his glasses anyways, so it’s not exactly an abnormal action. Except, Eddie’s never directly retrieved them from his face before. He’d always asked in the past. There was something so intimate about it, and the little things like this strengthened their bond further. 

Also his vision was blurry, Richie liked all the facial expressions that Eddie makes when he’s trying to concentrate. His tongue stuck out between his lips a tad, and he narrowed his eyes. He liked to watch Eddie has he blew his hot breath on the lenses and wiped them with the hem of his shirt. It was cute.

“True,” Richie sighed, also rolling over so he could face Eddie easier. He finished, and placed them back on his face. Eddie let a smile slip onto his face, as he pushed them up the bridge of Richie’s nose. “Thanks Eds.”

“Stop calling me that. I hate you.”

“Oh wow,” Richie sneered, and smiled. Eddie lightly smiled in the response, the edges of his lips curling upwards. “How nice of you. But anyways for real, that might’ve been one of the worst hangovers I’ve ever had.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? You want pain relievers? How’s your head?” Eddie asked. Without waiting for an answer, he walked out of his room to the bathroom. “Maybe you shouldn’t drink that much, Rich,” Eddie called.

“Yeah well, the old noggin had been busy. Helps take my mind off things.”

“What kinds of things?” Eddie said, strolling back into his bedroom with a two ibuprofen and a glass of water in his hands. He sat down beside Richie and handed him the stuff he’d gotten for him. “Here, take these, it’ll help.”

“Thank you, doctor Kaspbrak. And you know, college. We graduate in a few months, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. Where are you going? Is your mom going to let you out of her sight?”

“I sent some applications to a few places. I kind of want to go to Stanford, though. It’s nice that it’s more than 3000 miles from here,” he stated, laying back down next to Richie.

“Oh. I was thinking about going there too. You know, it’s weird how we’ve never really talked about this. It’s the next chapter of our lives, and there haven’t been any serious conversations about it. Will we all still talk? We better stay in touch, Eds. Who else am I going to use as an arm rest?”

“I’m not even that short,” Eddie rolled his eyes. “And maybe we could to go the same school. We could share a dorm room! And as for the others, I don’t know, man. We’ll have to just see what happens.

“That’d be pretty gnarly,” Richie smiled. Imagining it, it did sound amazing. Spending at least four more years with Eddie? It seemed like a good plan to him. “Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak, taking on California. I like the sound of that.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Glancing at the clock, Richie saw that it was only ten p.m. at night. His mom wouldn’t mind if he spent the night, right? His parents didn’t have any big plans anyways.  
“I’ve decided I’m spending the night; I don’t care what you say.”

“That’s fine. I figured that you would, because you always do,” Eddie chuckled. He was right, Richie and Eddie have always had sleepovers, just the two of them. “I’ll give you some sweatpants, unless you want to stay in your jeans.”

“Oh, I get to sleep in your bed and wear your clothes? Why don’t we just get married?” Richie blushed.

“Shut up, trashmouth,” Eddie shook his head. It’s always been Richie stupidly flirting with him. Is that flirting? Could Eddie even call it that? Surely, not, since they were both boys. Sure, they slept in the same bed all the time, playfully flirted, and pretty much already acted as couples do, but they were only friends. 

Sometimes Eddie wished that it was more, that there was more between them.

And little did he know, Richie felt the same way.

…

“Hey spaghetti man,” Richie whispered, careful not to wake up Eddie’s mom. It got to about midnight, and they decided to try and go to sleep. “You awake?”

“No,” Eddie responded, rolling over so that he was facing Richie. “It’s been like ten minutes, what do you want?”

“It’s Christmas!” Richie exclaimed quietly. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Rich,” Eddie smiled, looking directing at Richie. In the dark, all he could see was a rough outline of Richie, and what he thought was his eyes. Eddie’s room always got super dark at night, with only the moon faintly shining through the curtains to bring light in. “You want to open your present now?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, hold on. I’ll go get it.”

“I’ll get yours, too.”

“You brought it with you?” Eddie asked, surprised.

“Of course. I already knew that I’d be coming over,” Richie grinned. The both stood up, and went to opposite sides of the room to retrieve each other’s gifts. “You open yours first, okay?”

“Alright.”

Both boys sat back down on the bed after getting each other’s presents. Richie stuffed his in his jeans earlier that morning before he left to visit Eddie at the theatre. Richie mostly just wanted an excuse to get out of the house, and going to Eddie’s place seemed like a good plan.

“Okay, I honestly didn’t know what to get you, I’m sorry. Please don’t laugh,” Richie, said, rubbing the back of his neck. It was true, he didn’t really know what Eddie wanted; which was weird, because they’re best friends-it was hard to explain.

“Why would I laugh?” Eddie questioned, making a face.

Richie was unexpectedly good at wrapping presents, and Eddie was shocked.

He used a traditional green and red striped paper, and placed a little white bow tie on top. The gift was about the size of a shoe box, and Eddie honestly had no idea what was inside. He carefully started ripping the wrapping paper, and saw that the box was indeed from a pair of shoes, the ratty old converse that Richie wore every day. Eddie took the lid off, and set it beside himself on the bed.

“A comic book?” Eddie asked. He picked it up gently, and turned it over to see the front. “Wait, what the hell is this Richie?”

“Read it,” Richie blushed in response. He had considered whether he should end up giving it to Eddie, since he wasn’t sure if it was even a good idea. Both Stan and Beverly had reassured him multiple times that Eddie would love it.

“You’re fucking kidding.”

Eddie was in awe, to say the least.

It was a comic book, but not a typical one you’d buy in the store.

It looked homemade, and Eddie could tell that Richie had made it.

On the front, there was a drawing of both Richie and Eddie, standing in of the quarry. Eddie admitted that it wasn’t the best piece of artwork he had seen, but Richie definitely made an effort. The title read ‘The great adventures of Eddie Kaspbrak: 1989’

It was the year the losers club was founded.

Eddie remembered that summer well, he liked to reminisce about all of the old memories.

Richie wasn’t an artist, but the paints he used on the comic were easily distinguishable. It was easy enough for Eddie to be able to read it and recognize the photo of them both.

Eddie began flipping through the pages, seeing that each page had a different event from the summer of ’89.

The year Eddie broke his arm, and they met Mike, Bev, and Ben.

The summer where Richie and Eddie had become closer than ever, when the group had temporarily broken up.

“This is amazing,” Eddie breathed, speechless. “Oh my god, I don’t even know what to say. Jesus, Rich.”

That, right there, is what did it for Richie.

The look on Eddie’s face.

The way his eyebrows were raised, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled that wide; the numerous freckles that were dotted across his nose and cheeks.  
When Eddie ran his hands threw his coffee coloured hair that he was attempting to grow out, and a few curls bounced back onto his forehead.  
Richie loved the way Eddie always looked, but when he was happy and smiling? It was the best.

“I just…thank you. I can’t even describe how much I love this,” Eddie sighed, leaning over to Richie, wrapping his arms around his torso. 

Richie reached his right hand up, placing it on the back of Eddie’s head. He let out a deep sigh, letting himself physically relax. Eddie gives great hugs. It was something so intimate, yet so innocent at the same time.

“You’re welcome, my Eds spageds. It took me weeks, so you better like it,” Richie said, relieved.

“I love it, so much,” Eddie smiled, tickling Richie’s neck with his hot breath. “Okay. Open mine now. It’s not as good, so please don’t be disappointed.”  
“Not possible,” Richie grinned, pulling away from Eddie.

The package that Eddie handed him was small and soft, which made Richie assume it was some type of clothing. Unlike Richie, Eddie used black and white snowflake patterned paper.

Richie peeled back the paper, to see white fabric underneath.

It was a T-shirt.

Richie unfolded it, and saw that there was writing on the front side.

“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Richie exclaimed, beaming.

Eddie filled the entirety of the shirt with almost all of Richie’s favourite songs. From what he could see, there were about a hundred titles, neatly scribbled onto the fabric. 

There were many classics, including songs by Pink Floyd, Green Day, Michael Jackson, Metallica, AC/DC, and a shit ton more.

“Eddie Kaspbrak, light of my life. This is the best thing I’ve ever received. Ever. I can’t believe you.”

Richie was speechless, to say the least. He loved how messy Eddie’s handwriting was, for being such a neat person. He could clearly see how much time and effort that Eddie put into his gift. The amount of words, and sharpies that this took. It meant everything to Richie; he had already deemed it his go-to shirt, and that he was never washing it.  
“This is absolutely amazing, Eds, holy fuck.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I love it so much. It’s never going to be washed, and I’m gonna wear it every day,” Richie said, pulling Eddie into another hug.

Eddie was delighted that Richie enjoyed it. It some him a month to complete, and many failed attempts. Eddie’s mom was starting to get annoying when Eddie had brought home more than 10 white shirts one day.

Eddie didn’t’ care, he just wanted it to be perfect.

Richie couldn’t stop smiling, and neither could Eddie.

He ripped off the old blue shirt he was wearing, and pulled on the new one that he got.

“Look at that, Eds. It fits great,” Richie said, sitting back on the headboard.

“Yeah, yeah it does,” Eddie blushed. Strange how getting changed in front of each other made his heart race extremely fast. “I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep. Thanks so much for the comic, I’m going to read it tomorrow.”

“Anything for my best boy. And same, I’m exhausted. Goodnight, Eddie.”

“Night Rich,” Eddie said, and they both crawled under the covers.

It was quiet for a few minutes, until Eddie heard Richie’s breathing even out lower; as it does when he’s asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the sudden ending, I didn't really know where to go after that. But! I'm gonna try my best to make each chapter at least 7000 words so it's as entertaining as possible. Honestly this fic can go from 5-30 chapters, I don't know.  
> Thank you so much for reading! I'm taking a break for next week, chapter 2 will hopefully be up on Janurary 6th!!!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts, negative or positive, in the comments! (:


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